Dr Rachel Bacon has 28 years of public service experience, including 19 years in senior leadership roles across the Australian Public Service and the Northern Territory Public Service. She concluded her APS career as Deputy Commissioner at the Australian Public Service Commission. She now brings this whole-of-government expertise to work beyond the APS - across teaching, consulting, governance and public leadership.
Rachel has served at Deputy Secretary and equivalent levels across a broad range of portfolios, including integrity and public sector reform, regional development and place-based policy, environment and energy, and the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. She spent three years in the Northern Territory public service as Deputy CEO, giving her deep insight into Commonwealth–state–territory relationships and remote community governance.
Rachel has a passion for place-based solutions and the power of collaborating with communities to deliver outcomes that endure. She is a systems thinker known for connecting complex policy challenges to practical, people-centred outcomes, and for building trust across diverse stakeholder networks. She holds a PhD in administrative law from the University of Sydney and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Rachel is Chair of the Board of the ACT Women’s Legal Centre, a Council Member of the ACT Institute of Public Administration Australia (IPAA) and has held director roles on the boards of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority and the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal.